What are the research priorities of the MS community in Ireland?

MS Ireland is conducting a survey of the MS community in Ireland, to find out what areas of research are considered the most important by the community. 

MS Ireland’s funds for research are currently very limited, but it is hoped that as and when funding is available for research in the future, the results of this survey will help guide us as to how best to utilize them so that we are funding research that is most in line with the views and needs of the MS community here in Ireland. The survey will also help us to identify and prioritise potential new research partnerships and collaborations, both nationally and internationally, and guide us as to what type of content people would most like to see disseminated in future research eZines. 

Currently, MS Ireland’s Research Strategy for 2015-2019 references the top 10 research priorities of the MS Society in the UK, as established through an extensive survey carried out by the MS Society and the James Lind Alliance. Their process was as follows:

Question gathering: In November 2012 people were asked to submit their key research questions. This survey was planned and reviewed by a group of people with MS, carers and health care professionals. 507 people completed the questionnaire, sending in over 1,000 research questions.

Sorting: The questions were grouped into topic areas by the team at the James Lind Alliance. Questions that had already been answered were removed. This left 67 key questions.

Prioritising: In April 2013, 669 people voted for the questions most important to them.

Narrowing down to 10: In July 2013 a group of people with MS, family members and health care professionals were invited to narrow the 30 most voted for questions to a top 10.

MS Ireland wishes to establish if these top 10 priorities are reflective of the priorities of the MS community here in Ireland. 

Please take 5-10 minutes to complete the survey so you can have your say in this crucial piece of work. The survey is open to anyone from the MS community, including people with MS, their families and carers, healthcare professionals and researchers. 

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Further reading

Get in touch

Please contact Harriet Doig, Information, Advocacy & Research Officer, if you have any comments or questions: harrietd@ms-society.ie 

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